John H. Schild, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering Department
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Biology

Contact:
723 W. Michigan St. SL 220L
Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317)-274-9747
jschild@iupui.edu
NIH Biosketch (*.pdf)

Education:
Ph.D. Bioengineering, Rice University (1994)


Postdoctoral training:
Physiology and Pharmacology Department, Oregon Health and Science University (1995-1997)
Physiology and Biophysics Department, Baylor College of Medicine (1994-1995)

Research area : cardiovascular afferents and reflex control of blood pressure

More than 64 million Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease, the most prevalent being high blood pressure, myocardial infarction and angina pectoris also known as cardiac pain (The American Heart Association, 2004). While the clinical manifestations of these diseases are well described, comparatively little is known regarding the neural mechanisms underlying the control of the heart and circulation. We utilize a combination of experimental and computational techniques in developing a functional understanding of how individual cardiac sensory neurons and brainstem neural circuits both encode and process cardiovascular information. Fundamental to the operation of all neurons are ion channels, which are membrane bound proteins that give rise to the electrical characteristics of these cells. Ion channels or subcellular modulators of ion channel function are often targets for pharmacological interventions in treating cardiovascular disease. In the laboratory, we use patch clamp electrophysiology to study the impact of ion channel dynamics upon the discharge characteristics of cardiac sensory neurons. In the computer, we use biologically realistic mathematical models of cardiac sensory neurons and techniques of dynamical systems analysis to provide a conceptual framework with which to meaningfully interpret experimental results as well as a way of better directing and organizing future studies. An additional aspect of our work involves the development of instrumentation that moves our theoretical models out of the computer and into the research laboratory where they can be used as real-time tools for studying ion channel dynamics. Know as Dynamic Current Clamping, this technique makes possible the biological testing of model-based hypothesis as well as the study of higher order models of ion channel structure and function, which previously could not be validated experimentally. Recent results from our lab have demonstrated how tetrodotoxin-resistant Na⁺ ion channels, a special class of ion channels closely associated with pain sensation, can exert considerable influence over the responsiveness of a particular class of cardiac sensory neurons. We anticipate that these results may lead to more efficient development and effective application of pharmacological interventions for the management of cardiac pain.